While Summer was busy trying to monopolize Harper’s attention so Ashton could do his thing, she ended up getting a ton of extra tasks that she would have to do. It seemed like Harper had already heard all about how Kayla was especially compatible with Summer and the more they worked together the better the result would be. That was how the pair got stuck with practically eternal training.

  They started out the training slowly by just trying to replicate what had happened during the meeting with Ned. That was an easy success since they could both clearly imagine it. Then they started trying to think up other powers. While doing this they learned a lot.

  First, super speed was a bad idea. Sure Summer got the speed but she lacked the reaction speed to go with it. It left Kayla so frazzled she couldn't focus for the next one and somehow Summer ended up glowing. While it was better than the speed, glowing was weird. At least it was easy to tell when it wore off.

  "Are you sure we are doing this right?" Kayla asked the vibrantly glowing Summer, "I don't know when we are too successful and when we haven't improved enough to be safe."

  "I don't know either," Summer admitted, "If they get suspicious and end up finding out our method all of this will have been for nothing. Maybe it is a good thing we are still stumbling. I mean, look at me."

  Summer raised her luminescent arm as it ebbed from neon blue to green. This kind of accident was more or less expected and it might just be enough to avoid suspicion. Still, it had been an hour and Summer did not want to be stuck in a state where it literally hurt to look at herself much longer. Hopefully it wore off soon.

  Kayla giggled. “I wish I had my phone on me,” she said, “This would make a great picture.”

  “Don’t you dare,” Summer told her, instantly blocking Kayla from approaching the break room where they had both stored their devices, “I don’t even want to know how bad this would look in a picture.”

  “Like a beacon of light,” Kayla teased.

  As they bickered back and forth, the glowing finally wore off, allowing them to try something else. It didn’t take them long to figure out that even if they could technically control what powers Summer received, it wouldn’t matter if it was a power Summer wasn’t compatible with. Most physical abilities were nearly impossible for her to use. Mental abilities were also difficult for her to grasp, since she couldn’t put in the time for training she would need to use them.

  That left elemental or more visible powers. They were easy to understand, and Summer had hundreds of examples to look to on how to use them. They avoided fire, but water, earth, and wind were easy to control. Especially wind. Summer felt like that was more due to her prior experience facing a wind type power than anything else. Light and darkness were obviously in her wheelhouse.

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “I don’t really want to try lightning or electricity,” Summer admitted to Kayla, “So let’s skip that one.”

  “I understand,” Kayla agreed easily. There was no need for either of them to explain the reason, but it was clear they were thinking of Ashton. “Why don’t we try other visible powers? Maybe nothing like laser beams but we could try something like growing plants or flying.”

  “Let’s try growing plants first,” Summer said, “I am a bit nervous about flying.”

  The thought of flying only reminded Summer of her painful experience with super speed. She had immediately crashed into a wall since she had been unable to notice it in time. Growing plants worked surprisingly well, considering they were standing on a concrete training field. They probably should have moved to the dirt area first.

  “I think your next ability should be fixing concrete,” Kayla said, staring at the cracks lacing around the tree that had ruthlessly broken through the surface.

  “I don’t know. Wouldn’t that be too obvious?” Summer questioned.

  “Actually, it might be better. If we were desperate to clean up our mess it would make more sense to manifest an ability that can do it,” Kayla reasoned.

  Before they could do that, though, they needed to remove the tree. It turned out that un-growing a plant was much more difficult than growing it, and it ended with a fallen husk of a tree and dead branches everywhere. Growing plants was cool and all, but at Summer’s current level she couldn’t really control anything else about them. This ability would probably not be making a return.

  The concrete fixing ability was a success, though it was more like a restoration ability than an elemental ability. With the gaping holes and cracks filled, the two decided to take a bit of a break.

  “There was something else I wanted to talk to you about,” Summer brought up, “We might not always have the time or ability to communicate on the job. We should decide a power we always go to in a pinch.”

  “That is a good point,” Kayla agreed, “I liked that darkness one, but it is something you can probably utilize better with your own power so you don’t drag us into it too.”

  Summer nodded in agreement. “Wind was easier for me to control, so maybe that one?” she suggested, “I am too nervous to use stronger gusts, though, since it can get out of hand so easily.”

  “We don’t want to use something that is easy to lose control of,” Kayla agreed, “You should also like it, since we will need to practice it more than all of the others.”

  Summer thought about it. “I know we haven’t tried this one yet, but it is a power I have always wanted to have,” she began, “What if I could protect myself with some kind of barrier or shield? Kind of like Harper, but I was thinking something a bit more visible. You know those domes in games and movies?”

  “Like a force field?” Kayla checked, “We can try. I like the sound of that ability too.”